Global Issues
News headlines for “Democracy”, page 267
Imprisoned Saudi Activist and Other Rights Defenders Seek Justice in 2021
- Inter Press Service
NEW YORK, Jan 19 (IPS) - Two events generated significant interest and global solidarity in the final days of December 2020. A court in Saudi Arabia handed down a five years and eight months sentence to activist Loujain Al-Hathloul for publicly supporting women’s right to drive.
Nicholas Opiyo, Ugandan human rights lawyer and defender of persecuted members of the LGBTQI community and political opponents of the president was arbitrarily detained on trumped up charges of ‘money laundering.’ Nicholas Opiyo was granted bail on 30 December following an outpouring of global support for his activism for justice.
In handing out the verdict to Loujain Al-Hathloul, the court partly suspended her sentence raising hope that she might be released from prison in a couple of months due to time already served.
Punch Like A Muslim Woman: An Egyptian-Danish Boxer Breaking Many Stereotypes
- Inter Press Service
NEW DELHI, India, Jan 18 (IPS) - As a Muslim woman born and brought up in Denmark, Nadia Helmy Ahmed broke many stereotypes when she started boxing at the age of 15. “Back then it was not common for girls to take up elite boxing, let alone common for Muslim girls, I used to be the only girl in my gym, along with ten others boys,” said Nadia to IPS News.
Conspicuous Silence as Uganda President Wins Sixth Term against Bobi Wine
- Inter Press Service
KAMPALA, Jan 18 (IPS) - Thirty-five years ago when President Yoweri Museveni talked, majority of the citizens listened. But now, as he approaches almost four decades in power, his message is not resonating well — particularly with the country’s youth who constitute about 70 percent of the voting population in Uganda.
Q&A: China Accused of Intimidating, Detaining Citizens Critical of COVID-19 Linked Abuses
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 14 (IPS) - China must end its campaign against individuals seeking redress for COVID-19 linked abuses and the human rights lawyers and activists who help them, Human Rights Watch (HRW) with reports ranging from allegedly trapping them inside their homes, to chaining alleged lock-down violators to metal posts.
Culture of Misogyny and Toxic Masculinity Driving Sexual Violence in Bangladesh
- Inter Press Service
NEW DELHI, India, Jan 11 (IPS) - In October 2020, Bangladeshi citizens took to the streets, outraged by the reports of gruesome gang rapes and sexual violence that were taking place in the country. According to Ain O Salish Kendra, a Bangladeshi human rights organization, 975 women were raped in the first nine months of 2020, 43 women were killed after being raped and 204 women were attempted to be raped by men in Bangladesh.
Was It a Coup? No, But Siege on US Capitol Was the Election Violence of a Fragile Democracy
- Inter Press Service
Jan 07 (IPS) - Supporters of President Donald Trump, following his encouragement, stormed the US Capitol building on Jan. 6, disrupting the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory. Waving Trump banners, hundreds of people broke through barricades and smashed windows to enter the building where Congress convenes. One rioter died and several police officers were hospitalized in the clash. Congress went on lockdown.
If Covid-19 is Primarily a First World Virus, Why is the Global South in Lockdown?
- Inter Press Service
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jan 07 (IPS) - The currently available Covid-19 vaccines have been authorized for
emergency use
in Europe and North America. This is due to an apparent spike in Covid-19 flu cases in the northern hemisphere as winter advances. Highly advertised vaccines are being produced and rolled out at ‘warped speed’ by powerful pharmaceutical and bio-technology companies headquartered in Euro-America although their efficacy including how long their immunity lasts is not clear.Is the COVID-19 Vaccine a Potential Biological Weapon in Reverse?
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 07 (IPS) - Meanwhile, ”the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the already dire humanitarian and socio-economic situation” Secretary-General António?Guterres said at a meeting online last November, marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.If the coronavirus is not deemed a biological weapon, is the heavily-publicized Covid-19 vaccine in danger of being weaponized when over 159,000 Palestinians who have tested positive in Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) are being denied treatment during a deadly pandemic?
Stand Tall, UN Humanitarians
- Inter Press Service
LETHBRIDGE, Canada, Jan 05 (IPS) - Most people around the world were glad to see the back of 2020: From the devastating bushfires in Australia to the plagues of locusts through East Africa stretching across Arabia to Pakistan, extreme weather, melting ice sheets at the poles, and Covid-19 that still engulfs the globe.
How Women-centred Digital Platforms can Enhance Empowerment
- Inter Press Service
NEW YORK, Jan 04 (IPS) - A cherished snapshot of a happy mother and a smiling grandmother is universally associated with a good childhood. In the movies, TV, or media, a broken or depressed mother’s face is hardly seen. But the reality is somewhat different. The measures communities and society take to ensure that women and girls are protected and supported are often questioned.
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